This invention relates generally to the preparation and composition of oral cavity and dental products. More specifically, it relates to products intended to remove bacteria and other microbes from teeth surfaces and the oral cavity to thereby reduce malodor and ameliorate other microbial induced disease states.
Oral cavity malodor ("halitosis" or "bad breath") is caused not only by the odors of food previously eaten but also by the actions of various microorganisms on the ingested material which produce odorous sulfur-containing chemicals. The traditional products currently available for treating oral cavity malodor typically contain fragrant aromatic flavor oils to mask the malodor. In addition, they often contain one or more alcohols, abrasives, antimicrobial agents, and detergents which are believed to inhibit action of the microorganisms on ingested material by enhancing the removal of such material from tooth surfaces or by exerting a microbicidal or static effect. These products conventionally have the form of mouthwashes, sprays, gels, pastes and the like.
Furthermore, similar compositions have been utilized to inhibit other oral cavity microorganisms which can cause conditions such as dental cavities, plaque formation, gingivitis, and the like. Heretofore, these compositions have been generally aqueous/alcoholic solutions containing small amounts of aromatic flavor oils dissolved therein along with one or more alcohols, abrasives, antimicrobial agents, and detergents. These products have also been formed as semisolid products by incorporating conventional water-soluble gelling agents.
Tooth pastes have traditionally been solid dispersions of abrasives, flavors, detergents, antimicrobial agents, fluorides, sweeteners and the like.
These products have specific limitations which restrict their use. For instance, the alcohols can be irritating to portions of the oral cavity, particularly to abraded areas. Other products containing high levels of detergents can cause adverse effects such as gum recession, edema, local irritations, and even allergic reactions. Moreover, the malodor and microbial suppression is generally found to remain for a quite short period of time.
One attempt at overcoming some of these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,342 which teaches the effectiveness of certain hydrocarbon and fixed vegetable oils in desorbing and binding oral cavity microbes which cause malodor and disease. The compositions comprise two phases, one an oily phase and the other an aqueous phase, which are mixed just prior to use, generally by swishing in the mouth. Such a product suffers from the disadvantage of being unaesthetic, oily, and unpleasant to the taste. In addition, it requires a special dispenser to accurately meter the correct proportion of each phase into the mouth on a consistent basis. The crude emulsion formed by swishing in the mouth of the user in the absence of emulsifiers will inherently consist of very large oil droplets, typically in the 10 to 100 micron range. Also since people vary significantly in their swishing action, there will be a significant variation in effectiveness of the product.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to produce fluid, gel, or paste emulsions having essentially uniform submicron size to be used in the oral cavity to reduce malodor and to ameliorate microbe-mediated diseases.
It is a further object to produce such products having enhanced effectiveness, reduced irritation potential, sustained duration of action, extended shelf life, pleasant taste and appearance characteristics.
These and other advantages will be apparent from the detailed description of the invention below.